Community Development. GIVING PEOPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN CREATIVE FULFILLMENT.

Preserving Mardi Gras Culture Program, USA
AfA will begin a project in March 2012 with the Early Childhood and Family Learning Foundation in New Orleans (ECFLF). The mission of the ECFLF is to create holistic programs to empower neighborhoods by improving academic, socio-economic, cultural, and health opportunities for families. The collaborative partnership with the ECFLF and Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians will allow Artfully AWARE to connect the underserved population of at-risk Central City youth and their families to the performing, written and visual arts. The Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians are a Central City-based tribe, charted in 1835, with a long history and legacy in New Orleans culture.

Together, we will work with the children and families to share the heritage, art and oral history of this tradition, including hands-on artwork creating the elaborate components of the traditional Indian costume and performance of traditional chants and dances. They are a concealed tight knit traditional community preserving a complex music and art culture. Surviving from African tribes brought to New Orleans in slavery, Mardi Gras Indian costumes are a fine example of traditional African-American folk art. Hoping to help re-discover this essentially hidden traditional culture, we also hope to help the Mardi Gras Indians gain recognition for their spiritual and material contribution to our society.

Business Mentoring Project, Africa
Our Ugandan based AfA Africa Team continues to work closely with our UK and US based members to develop sustainable educational programs for our Tororo and Gulu communities. An incredible 2011 summer training led to the creation of our AfA Storybook, a project that encouraged community members to write, paint and perform about their personal stories consisting of family, positive health and peace & reconciliation after the 20 year civil war. The book is currently under design and will be published early next year in both English and Acholi.

We have already begun some exciting new partnerships, including providing educational workshops for World Vision and The AIDS Support Organization (TASO). These will continue through 2012 and into the foreseeable future. We are working on developing a business mindset in our community members, such as starting up investment clubs to bring business ideas to the market so they can expand their financial power. This is called our Business Mentoring Project, and in 2012 we will launch a series of workshops that will use creative techniques to help train rural communities in business skills. Crucial to this is improving the quality of artwork and crafts that are currently being produced by workshop participants and finding additional outlets to market them. In addition, we are in talks with UK based and local Ugandan microfinance firms to team up with them on delivering this project in a way that will create lasting sustainable development.